Maple Ridge cracks down on panhandling
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2019 16:12:43 +0000
Maple Ridge has become the latest B.C. city to crack down on panhandling, approving Tuesday night its Safer Streets Bylaw.
Council voted 6-1 in favour of the bylaw, which aims to regulate, abate and prohibit aggressive solicitation in the city of Maple Ridge, according to a staff report.
Under the legislation, panhandlers could be fined up to $100 if they ask for money from someone in a car, or after dark. They are also prohibited from blocking a pedestrian, or harassing a person after they have been denied money.
Panhandlers are also banned from asking for cash within 10 metres of a financial institution, ATM, bus stop, daycare, liquor or cannabis store.
Only one councillor voted against the plan. Kiersten Duncan says the legislation stigmatizes a marginalized population and could lead to the criminalization of panhandling.
Meantime, the mayor of Maple Ridge Mike Morden has publicly feuded with the B.C. government this year over building modular housing for the homeless.
Morden has said he supports building more housing for low-income people, seniors, and those with disabilities, but he believes Maple Ridge already has too much low-barrier housing for people with mental health and substance abuse problems.
In April, he drew criticism for saying that drug users were “basically raping and pillaging all of our community and our businesses.”
Earlier this year, Penticton updated its panhandling bylaw to include cracking down on loitering on sidewalks in some downtown areas. Those caught in violation can be fined $100.
Kelowna city council voted last year to support changes to panhandling regulations that make it a ticketable offence to give away money, or recyclable items of some value, to other people in certain circumstances.
People who give away recyclables within 500 metres of a recycling depot, for example, could be fined $250.
ticrawford@postmedia.com
-With files from Dan Fumano, The Canadian Press, The Penticton Herald, and The Kelowna Daily Courier